Copywriting is an art, not a science
I think copywriters are getting too scientific. In our anxiety to sit at the top management table, we’ve started to talk the language of sales and marketing – targeting, RoI, metrics – and position our words as another cog in the commercial machine. Direct-response copywriting is all about using words precisely to get a specific reaction from the audience, and approaches such as NLP can lead us into a mechanistic view of the writer-audience relationship (I say this, so you’ll do that). Finally, SEO imposes further discipline on us, twisting our words with tags so they’ll please the Googlebots.
Of course, this is largely what distinguishes copywriting from other writing – it must fulfil a practical function, not just provide entertainment for the reader or an outlet for the writer. But copywriting is still writing, and what makes it good can’t always be reduced to a formula. So I’d like to talk about some of the things you might look for in a copywriter that can’t necessarily be quantified or analysed, but still might make a big difference to your bottom line.
- Stories. Stories enchant us with a power rooted in childhood, or perhaps even the collective unconscious. They’re utterly compelling to listen to (or read), and they help us understand complex events and relationships with simple words and concepts. Good storytellers will always be able to command attention and make sure a message sticks. In marketing, stories can lead listeners from their situation to the course of action you want them to take (for example, by describing the typical experience of a satisfied customer of yours).
- Mystery. A good copywriter should be able to give reasons for every decision they make. Yet there are some choices that just can’t be justified rationally, even though they’re right. Slogans like ‘Who knows the secret of the Black Magic box?’ or scripts like that of the Guinness surfer ad resist being interpreted or decoded; they just are. This may be because they resonate with both the conscious and the unconscious simultaneously.
- Poetry. How do you choose between ‘light’, ‘glow’ and ‘radiance’? If you’re like me, you know which one is right in a given situation, but perhaps can’t explain why. Copywriters sometimes have to fall back on a sense of le mot juste to get them through – but they’re always aware that there’s a choice to be made, and that there’s always a right answer.
- Music. A good piece of writing needs to have a consistent pace and a recognisable structure, yet within that it needs to be dynamic, flowing and vivid. A good copywriter knows how to vary the length of paragraphs, sentences, phrases and words to preserve forward movement while retaining the element of surprise – just like a gifted melodist.
- Sensuality. Which tastes better – (a) cheese on toast, or (b) rich, creamy Double Gloucester melted over warm, crusty granary bread? The copywriter knows how to use the language of the senses to fire the reader’s imagination. This helps to make the course of action you want them to take (e.g. buying a product) more compelling and appealing than their current reality. Experienced copywriters know how to bring this type of appeal even when selling intangibles like B2B services.
- Tone. This does get some attention, but not nearly enough. Looking at marketing projects in isolation, it’s easy to forget that your audience usually gets a sense of your brand gradually, not at a stroke. Their experience stretches across multiple ‘touchpoints’(your website, your adverts, social media) and may involve several interactions before they buy. A copywriter can make sure the experience is consistent, congruent and confidence-building, no matter how disparate it is.
I studied literature and worked in publishing, so some of this is perhaps personal bias. But I think copywriters shouldn’t be afraid to come out and say that what they propose is right aesthetically as well as rationally. Good clients would respect it, and the world of marketing would be more interesting for it too.
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Interesting. I beg to differ just a little bit. Not too much, because I agree there is an art to copywriting, and copywriting IS an art in a sense… but I’d say it needs to be a science first and foremost, because if we’re not getting the end result (i.e. sales or subscriptions), then we might just as well be writing poetry or fiction 😀
Ultimately, we write copy to get a result or responses… and especially when clients are involved, results is what they want most of the time.
On the other hand, methinks you are just being provocative to gain a response, which, at least for me, worked like… well, science 😀
Still, I appreciate what you’re saying about the artistic side of copywriting. When you think about it, even those elements you point out (such as stories) are broken down by copywriters and analyzed scientifically, i.e. what are we trying to achieve by conveying this story?
Good storytelling is an art, but I still think it helps to look at it in scientific terms as well. Copywriters want to know, What makes a good story in the first place? And that requires a bit of analysis… which is science.
Bottom line? For me, copywriting is both art and science, but more science than art – because it’s results based, whereas art doesn’t have to be.
Paul Hancox / copySnips
This reads to me like we’re dissecting the art to see the construction scientifically. Depending on the artform that can be dangerous as it may be possible to destroy the “magic” . . .
As a side note, it’s interesting to me that you used the Guiness Surfer ad as an example.
I tried to sue Guiness back in 1998 on copyright grounds. Please take a moment to study one of my paintings from that time – something I was getting well know for in St Ives Cornwall where I was based . . .
But hey, that’s copyright, a whole different ball game 😉
http://www.motoringartist.com/White%20Horses1.jpg
@Ian
Thanks for commenting. Looking at your work, I can certainly see your point. Can you let us know how the proceedings went?
I agree, though I’d suggest the best copywriting comes from the same place real art does.
Insight.
The worst ads are those that simply don’t “see” the product, the market or the prospect. They plod along like an old draft horse, lacking drama, pace or interest.
The best ads not only entertain (using the tools you listed), but also create an “ah-ha” moment — a glimpse of truth for the reader (yeah, I’m going all Hollywood here, but bear with me).
After Specialized launched their recessed cleat cycling shoe (prior to the advent of the recessed cleat, cycling shoes were extremely hard to walk in), they ran an ad with the headline “How To Fly Like An Eagle Without Walking Like A Duck.”
To cyclists, that’s funny, but also supremely relevant. Whoever wrote it “got” the end user, courtesy a little insight.
We got humor and truth in one headline.
If your readers are looking for a copywriter, tell them to avoid (at all costs) those who lack insight (or use the phrases “copy that sells” or “on-target copy” on their websites).
They can deliver words, but never art.
Agree. At least decision on point of view for the stories must be based on a simple survey.
I lost my case on the old technicality of “make
five changes” !Even though on a television programme back in 1998 about the 100 Best Adverts (where this came in at number one) in an interview with the creators they admitted to being inspired by a painting they saw while on vacation in Cornwall (The programme incidentally has been repeated on TV since and the interview subsequently edited to leave this bit out!)
They argued that my oil painting was a completely different medium to their film, also my work was full colour where as theirs was black &
white, my painting didn’t include surfers where as their work did, and so it
went on ….
I’m a lone man in business and I was trying to fight a huge
corporation so in the end I backed off before I wasted any more money.
I’m sorry it’s taken 3 years to reply, I’ve only just seen your message and question!
Better late than never – and thanks for sharing your experience, Ian. I guess you were never going to receive any reward, but it would have been nice to at least get the recognition.